Can a college refuse to send your transcripts?

Nurses General Nursing

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Just a situation. My DH and i are getting prepped to go back to school and get our BSN. Sent off for our transcripts at the college we graduated from nursing school at. Before we left there, DH had taken a handful of classes AFTER we graduated (prereqs for BSN) and didnt' complete the semester cuz we had our first son. So he dropped them. We got this letter a while back saying we owed the FULL tuition's worth for the semester, which turned out NOT to be true due to his drop date. So we had to hash it out with them, etc...and figure out what was owed, then it was paid. NOW they are saying we owe $700!!!! :eek: for classes that he didn't complete and dropped BEFORE the final drop date! So they sent a letter saying they would send proof of his degree/classes to the pending school we are going to attend after he paid this. So tomorrow we are going to be on the phone for the BETTER part of the day i'm sure trying to straighten this out. But my question is, shouldnt' they have to send the stupid transcripts to the other college regardless? I mean he's already GOT a degree from this school.....can they just hold transcripts forever or something??? i mean he has to be able to PROVE that he's got a degree at some point right?? :uhoh21:

Actually my school does use a collection agency and reports the bad debt. It's mentioned in all the registration forms.

I know of one girl who actually went through a whole course without paying. So she didn't get the course credit because she didn't pay on time. Go figure.

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Is $700 the full tuition amount? Most colleges that I know of (I've attended five different ones LOL) have a policy that states if you drop by X date, you're not liable for any of the charges, if you drop 2 weeks later, you owe 50% of tuition, another two weeks, 60%, etc etc etc. So maybe that's why he still owes? Check out that college's handbook online if it's available and be sure you know their policies.

Good luck dealing with that... they have a full right to hold his transcripts until the bill is paid, I'm sure he signed something when he enrolled there that said he agreed to the fines/policies/etc (as much as that sucks). :o

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I guess maybe it is just me, but it almost seems as if we, the western world, collectively expect to get something for nothing, and then when we don't, we are ticked off. (Kinda reminds me of some toddlers I used to know.) I mean, when I applied to school and again when I enrolled, I agreed I would pay the fees assessed by the school, according to the school's rules, and that if I didn't do that, I wouldn't get my grades or be allowed to enroll in more courses, or, if I had already graduated, I would not get my transcripts. That was just it. But you are certainly not the only ones who complain when, having not held up your end of the bargain, you do not get any more of the benefits of the relationship.

I never said i or my DH expected something for nothing. What i'm saying is we followed the college guidelines by dropping before a certain date, paid the partial tuition, and NOW 3 years later all of the sudden they say we owe full tuition. Doesn't that seem dishonest to you on THEIR behalf, not ours? And all over a transcript/proof of degree request. Its like they are bending us over a barrel cuz they feel like they CAN, not because they are RIGHT.

I do not expect something for nothing here. Neither does my DH. We have and WILL pay something to this school that we rightfully owe. I think its unfair practice of the college, and after 3 years to boot. We paid and did what we were supposed to, and what they asked of us at the time. WE thought it was resolved and had done the responsible legal thing. we are not trying to "get out of anything" here. And considering the money we've paid in the past to this school with excellent reputations on our behalf i think this is VERY shady and crappy.

If he withdrew within the proper time frame, he probably got some kind of confirmation, and it will be in the school's computer, right? This should be a simple thing to clear up. This will all go away as soon as you are able to take care of your responsibility with the school. You are lucky, actually, because I don't think schools charge interest on what is owed them, and they probably don't turn people over to collection agencies or report it as a bad debt

You'd think it were that simple, but obviousely its NOT. and that's assuming they even entered the information correct. Computers aren't always right in my experience, well ok its the users usually but you KWIM.

I don't know, it just sounds like you think we should put up or shut up, even tho we've PAID what we owe. And may or may not be able to prove it. I have no idea if its on our credit or in collections either. Hopefully we will soon.

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they probably don't turn people over to collection agencies or report it as a bad debt. Thank God it's not the IRS or a loan company! :stone

.

Some schools do..

I had a debt with a big university here. About 6 years ago, they ended up sending my students loans/grant money back to the banks after I withdrew and after they'd given me a refund, and left me owing the school around $3,000. Of course, I was very financially foolish at the time (not to mention I didn't have a job) so I just ignored it. The school started charging me $75/month (you read that right) in late fees, and then turned it over to a collection agency. Now the balance is at $7,000 and they won't negotiate it at all. I'm going to be paying on this thing forever... :o

Learned that lesson the REALLY hard way LOL :)

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I never said i or my DH expected something for nothing. What i'm saying is we followed the college guidelines by dropping before a certain date, paid the partial tuition, and NOW 3 years later all of the sudden they say we owe full tuition. Doesn't that seem dishonest to you on THEIR behalf, not ours? And all over a transcript/proof of degree request. Its like they are bending us over a barrel cuz they feel like they CAN, not because they are RIGHT.

I do not expect something for nothing here.

If it's any consolation, I didn't read your post that way. I'm sorry that others did. I thought you were pretty clear about already paying what was owed, and that the college was unfairly trying to collect more.

Anyway, I hope you can work it out. Any chance you can find the 'drop' paperwork? That might be one way to settle it. Although I realize it was a long time ago and you may not have it now.

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unless you have documented proof you are between a rock and a hard place. If you are like me you probable no longer have that proof though you may once have.

You can consult an attorney but I don't think you can do much without the proof. Sometimes we just have to suck up the unfair and chalk it up to experience.

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Thanks Lizz! your post was very sweet!

Agnus, you are right. if we can't produce the paperwork we are pretty much screwed. I'm digging and digging, so is DH but no luck so far. :(

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Sorry if I sounded rude - I'll admit that I misread your post (logged on to the site from work and I'm guilty of often scanning threads and hastily replying). How'd you pay the tuition before - if it was by check or CC surely you can get some kind of proof via statements or through your bank?

Good luck, hope yall get this worked out relatively easily! :)

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Sorry if I sounded rude - I'll admit that I misread your post (logged on to the site from work and I'm guilty of often scanning threads and hastily replying). How'd you pay the tuition before - if it was by check or CC surely you can get some kind of proof via statements or through your bank?

Good luck, hope yall get this worked out relatively easily! :)

You didn't sound rude at all! lol

i don't remember, i'm going to have to go thru bank statements around that time fram to see if we paid by check, which is USUALLY what we would do but who knows ya know? i can't remember yesterday much less 3 years ago! lol :rotfl:

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